30 Aug 2012

We had about 5 minutes watching this Emperor Dragonfly placing
her eggs on to sub-surface vegetation before she unexpectedly
flew off. In this image you can see the last few abdominal
segments under water along with her Claspers (Anal Appendages).

Ref: DF1_20120722_1539_164 Emperor Dragonfly female laying (crop).jpg

29 Aug 2012

A couple of rooks look like are having a 'disagreement'.
(This is the whole camera frame)

Ref: D45_20120724_1915_110_FB1 2 Rooks squabbling (processed).jpg

28 Aug 2012

The same bird about 1 second apart - it is amazing how incident
light changes appearance.

26 Aug 2012

The symmetry tickled our fancy enough to see what it looked like inverted.
So here it is - the Iris fronds in the background and the lighting are 'wrong',
but would you have noticed if we only presented this one?

24 Aug 2012

6 days later several hundred Black headed gulls flew over in
about 15 minutes in all stages of moult. This bird with fully
developed head plumage (actually 'chocolate' colour rather than
black) was too busy scratching the side of his beak with his left
foot to notice the photographer. This is just before the foot
reached the beak.

19 Aug 2012

A single frame showing the visitors who climb up the metre to
the top of the tree-stump after a shower on a mild night.
There is probably a feast of food particles and peanut butter
caught in the cracks.

We photograph lots of insect catchers in flight, and sometimes
get lucky with an insect capture. The dot in the front of the
middle bird is an insect that appeared in the first 2 images, but
not in the last (on the left). Positioned as accurately as is
possible.

15 Aug 2012

One of 'our' foxes produced this one-off image nicely side on and fitting in
the frame apart from an ear tip.

Ref: D45_20120711_0039_108_FB1 Fox (whole length crop).jpg

14 Aug 2012

We first spotted this male pheasant crouching in the grass along the edge
of the wheat crop, but it soon realised we were not going away, so he walked
along the edge of the crop to one of the sprayer tractor's wheel ruts, and
'vanished' into the crop.

10 Aug 2012

A sequence of a Wren singing near the house taken over about 1 minute.
Start bottom left.

Ref: DF1_20120628_1454_014+015+021+1455_022 Wren singing from top of evergreen (mirror montage).jpg

09 Aug 2012

The photo sites have only recorded Bullfinches in the last couple of years.
This is a male who put in a partial appearance 2 days before.

Ref: D45_20120703_1913_094_FB1 Bullfinch male (crop).jpg

08 Aug 2012

At about 10 p.m. (& again a few hours later during the same night)
this Fox, with crystal-clear eyes, was gazing at the ground.

Ref: D45_20120704_2153_223_FB1 Fox (crop 2).jpg

07 Aug 2012

Dragonfly species change dramatically during their lives - you
really need a whole book on the subject to work out what is what.
Despite the colour this is a young male Common Blue damselfly.
You don't need a book to enjoy them though!

06 Aug 2012

A buzzing in the grass led us to this little encounter between what
we thought was two rather slim bumble-bees. But one of our weekly
assortment readers quickly told us that these are Hover-flies
Volucella bombylans which mimic and
parasitise bumble-bees. The yellow specks are pollen grains.

02 Aug 2012

Wandering around the plot we often startle a pheasant. Here the
dominant male saw us well in advance, and a slow approach
led to an orderly withdrawal without loss of dignity. These birds
don't seem to have much sense 'what happens next' - if we are
walking towards them and they move behind a hedge where they
can't see us, they stop, and then panic when we arrive.

Ref: DF1_20120621_1234_008 Pheasant male at end of path.jpg

About 6 mallard ducks (including 1 drake in eclipse) are still
frequenting the ponds and the paths between them. Here was a
chance encounter while out walking.

01 Aug 2012

At the end of April 2012 we first spotted Jackdaw eggs in the
nest intended for Tawny Owls.
It reached 4 eggs, after 20 days we have some chicks but the
chicks reduced to one that grew to adult size before departing 56
days (2 months) after there were just 2 eggs.
Image 3 shows one of the adults guarding the nest incubated by
the other sitting on eggs inside. Where the bedding went during
last 4 images we don't know - maybe the jackdaw was VERY hungry!
We strongly suspect that the final chick ate his siblings during
cold and wet weather. We are surprised how fully developed the
bird was before fledging.There is a lot more detail before reduction to fit
here - if you want it just ask & we will email it (file is about 11MB).